Velaphi Mzimba
Born in Soweto outside Johannesburg in September 1959, Velaphi Mzimba´s colourful paintings reflect the vibrancy and rapidly evolving environment of South Africa´s black townships. Although he was deeply involved in the struggle for liberation against apartheid, his work shows no hint of anger or pain. Instead his paintings have an infectious optimism that warms all viewers. This richness of spirit combined with an extraordinary technical virtuosity has no doubt led to the success that he has experienced over the last few years.Mzimba´s huge faces, young boys with heads made out of squashed cans and complex mixed-media landscapes grace many public, corporate and private collections worldwide. This success is not built upon clever marketing or the vagaries of fashion. Mzimba´s work constantly surprises and challenges his followers. Huge brooding and richly-painted portraits of proud tribesman and women are painstakingly painted in his studio. These monumental works, which drain his energies, are interspersed with impish playful works that are often created from a myriad of seemingly-unconnected found objects. Somehow in Mzimba´s hands they are joined together to form intelligent and wonderfully decorative comments on everyday life in South Africa.
Having recently turned his hand to sculpting, Mzimba brings the same fascination with the wholesomeness of the everyday. His one-man show in Cape Town of his first bronzes was an exciting departure for the artist, the development of which we have watched with growing intrigue.
